WATERBURY-DUXBURY SCHOOL BOARD

“UNOFFICIAL” MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 20, 2007

Meeting Held at Thatcher Brook Primary School Library

 

IN ATTENDANCE:

BOARD:                               Dale Smeltzer, Susan Flynn, Dawn Poitras, Michael Roche and Sherry Ziemke

ADMINISTRATORS:        Barbara Tomasi-Gay, Ken Page, Bob McNamara, and Don Schneider

PUBLIC:                               Georgeanne Baker, Mike Maloney, Reed McCracken, Monica Mead,

and Patty McKibben

 

1.                  Ms. Smeltzer called the meeting to order at 6:07 p.m.

 

2.                  Ms. Smeltzer confirmed the agenda.

 

3.                  There were no comments from the public.

 

4.                  DISCUSSION ITEMS

A.     TBPS Playground – Letter of Support for Grant – Susan Flynn moved to authorize Ms. Smeltzer to sign a letter of support for the grant being written for the TBPS playground project.  Dawn Poitras seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

 

B.     Pre-school New Legislation and our Program – Ms. Smeltzer led a discussion about new pre-school legislation and its possible impact on the W-D pre-school services.  A discussion ensued.  Questions were asked regarding the equity of services being provided to all students whether in attendance at TBPS or at a private partnership.

 

C.     TBPS Renovations Update – Ms. Wood expressed her sincere thanks for the kind words acknowledging her work on the TBPS renovation project at last night’s celebration.  At that celebration, Cathy Hilgendorf from the Department of Education gave TBPS a Vermont flag that once flew over the capitol from Secretary of State Deborah L. Markowitz, plus a certificate stating as such in celebration of the completion of the project.  The update then turned to the Renovations financial report and a discussion of state aid.  Currently there are four schools in line for collection of state aid.   The State auditor will verify whether the money was spent on what we said and whether the spending was on reimbursable items.  At this point, there is approximately $85,000.00 remaining in the budget.  The committee reported that the project is still under budget.  The committee will bring back a priority list for spending any leftover dollars.  The committee’s next report when they are ready to recommend priorities for furnishings spending after the project is closed out.

 

D.     GOAL –Presentation of Draft Strategic Plan – Ms. Ziemke provided a brief overview of the work to this point.  She offered her thanks to the other Board members, administration, staff, the steering committee, and the community for their support and work.  Mr. McNamara added his thoughts about this process and congratulated Sherry Ziemke for her dedication to the project.  The remaining time of the hour designated for this portion of the meeting was spent reviewing and discussing the draft document goal by goal.  The committee members in attendance noted the comments.  They will add clarification to the draft and present a second draft at a future meeting. 

 

E.     Financial Guidelines – Ms. Smeltzer provided a draft dated September 20, 2007 of the Optimizing Financial Tracking and Reporting Information (see handout).

 

5.                  OTHER BUSINESS

  1. Tech Assistant Resignation – Mr. Page announced that he received a letter of resignation from Eric Bourdon.

 

  1. Ms. Wood’s Bench – Mr. Schneider showed a picture of the bench under consideration for Ms. Wood’s gift.  Donations can be sent to the office of TBPS.

 

  1. WWSU Master Contract – Copies of the recently ratified teacher’s contract were distributed and Ms. Smeltzer provided a brief overview of the financial implications.

 

  1. Trish Feld Dedication – The dedication ceremony and plaque unveiling will be held at the beginning of the Board’s next meeting.  Refreshments will be served at 5:45 p.m.

 

  1. Board Meetings – The Board meetings are scheduled for October 4th and 25th.

 

6.                  ACTION ITEMS

  1. Board Minutes – Susan Flynn moved to approve the September 6, 2007 minutes as amended.  Dawn Poitras seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

 

  1. Board Orders – On the recommendation of Susan Flynn, Sherry Ziemke moved to confirm the following Board orders dated September 17, 2007 in the amount of $110,930.81 and $124,804.84.  Ms. Flynn pointed out that teachers cannot use the tax ID number when personal purchases are included, and purchasing technology equipment should be happening under a well thought out plan. Dawn Poitras seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

 

  1. Letter from Eric Bourdon  - Susan Flynn moved to accept Eric Bourdon’s letter of resignation.  Dawn Poitras seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

 

Dawn Poitras moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m.  Susan Flynn seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

 

These minutes are unofficial until approved by the Board of School Directors.  They are, in my opinion, substantively correct.  Minutes completed by:  Georgeanne Baker